As the Republican National Committee's site selection group visited Cleveland Tuesday and came away impressed by the city's commitment to host the 2016 GOP convention, Dallas sits in the wings, waiting for its chance to show the group it means business.

But there are still three other cities on the GOP June tour, including Kansas City, Denver and Dallas, looking to make a good impression on the committee's two dozen-member site selection group. Dallas gets its turn June 11-13.

At stake: At least $427 million of economic impact from an estimated 40,000 convention delegates and visitors, including 15,000 media representatives.

If the site selection committee makes its decision purely from a facilities and logistics perspective, Dallas would do well with superior facilities, including the American Airlines Center and AT&T Stadium, and a sophisticated transportation system, said Mark Jones, chair of the department of political science at Rice University in Houston.

"Dallas certainly has a lot of things in its favor," Jones told the Dallas Business Journal."We are the largest of the red states and if their goal is to go to a state with a Republican stronghold, then Dallas is an excellent site and Dallas could pull off an excellent convention. Dallas is a very strong site."

But if the GOP site selection committee wants to take the convention to a battleground state, that could be a very different story, he said. That could put Cleveland, Denver and Kansas City on a blue map the GOP would like to color red. And that might give Denver an advantage. The city demonstrated that it can hold a major political convention when it hosted the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

"Denver already has done a dress rehearsal with the Democratic National Convention and has an understanding of what it takes that other cities lack," Jones told me.

Jones said a number of studies show there's little to no benefit to political parties by hosting conventions in battleground states.

This wouldn't be Dallas' first time to host the Republican National Convention, which it did successfully in 1984, said noted Southern Methodist University Economist Bernard "Bud" Weinstein.

"I'd certainly put my money on Dallas," Weinstein told the Business Journal. "When we last hosted the convention, everything went swimmingly. The Republican party was happy and Dallas officials were happy."

In Weinstein's opinion, Cleveland and Kansas City don't have the sophisticated infrastructure or logistical system to pull off a large convention like this one. While Denver is Dallas' biggest competition, ultimately the decision will come down to a city's facilities and incentives -- two categories where Dallas typically fares well.

However, on the political barometer, Dallas-Fort Worth's recent demonstrations from the Open Carry Texas offshoot in Tarrant County aiming to change Texas gun laws, which included arming themselves and carrying semi-automatic weapons in front of a North Richland Hills Home Depot, could be too much for the RNC site selection committee. After all, even the National Rifle Association said it was over the top, Jones said.

"This would be an unwelcome, disruptive element at the convention and distract from the party and the image that its candidates are trying to project," he told me. "The damage has already been done (for Dallas' image in front of the site selection committee), but it could be more damaging if it escalates or continues through this weekend to the actual state convention in Fort Worth."

Another potential negative for Dallas is the weather. It gets a bit hot here in July with an average high temperature of 96 degrees. Meanwhile, the city's biggest competitor, Denver, has an average high of 88 degrees.

But without the RNC committee considering July as a possible convention option, there's no way to guarantee the site selection committee the availability of the American Airlines Center, which is held for certain dates in June for the possibility of the Dallas Mavericks making the playoffs.

Here's a look at how each city measures up:

Cleveland: C-town is seen as an underdog, and so far, is playing like one to win the 2016 Republican National Convention. While impressing site selection committee members, convention observers say the city seems to lack the logistics seen in Denver and Dallas. Ohio could be seen as a battleground state by the site selection committee, which could be a plus, albeit a small one. (RNC visit through June 4)

Kansas City: The city's Sprint Center doesn't have an anchor tenant like a sports team (think of the Dallas Mavericks helping co-anchor the American Airlines Center) and gives the Republican National Convention flexibility. Kansas City has also hosted the Republican National Convention two other times in the distant past. But the smaller city appears to have the same logistical challenges -- such as ease of flying into and out of the town -- as Cleveland. ( June 4-6)

Denver: The Mile High city held the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and has already run the gambit for a large political convention. Summer weather also tends to be pleasant in Denver. But Colorado lacks the red-state devotion seen in the Lone Star state. (Next site visit: June 9-11)

Dallas: The region is a stronghold for Republicans and its selection would put the year-old George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at the forefront of many destinations sought by GOP conventioneers. However, the region's sprawl could be seen as a negative if the convention was held in June during a Mavs playoff series. (Next site visit: June 11-13)